U.S. Girls, Ether Island, Tunnels

[DARK POP] "David Lynchian" is the new "Beatlesque." In the underground, at least, the overall vibe of the director's unnerving oeuvre has become a guiding light for a certain breed of songwriter. See: Dirty Beaches, Sacred Bones Records' discography and U.S. Girls. Once attaching the moniker to her solo tape experiments, Meghan Remy has gradually expanded the Girls into a full-on pop project, and over the course of four albums has dragged more and more genres into her woozy, synthy shadow. Last year's Gem skips from T. Rex glam to girl-group Spectorisms, while keeping the proceedings off-kilter enough to skew toward an intangible, Blue Velvet-levelcreepiness.